The way you do laundry can make a real difference in the longevity of your clothes, even how often you have to wash them. Although we've always been known as a bit of a laundry witch, we learned a few new tricks from Danny Seo, the King of Green, when we hung out with him the other day. Danny's become something of an expert since consulting with Method on their new line of laundry products.
Materials
- One bottle of white vinegar
- One bottle of hydrogen peroxide
- A green laundry detergent like Method or Mrs. Myers or make your own!
- A can of tennis balls
Before you start, clean your washer by running it through one cycle with hot water to which you've added a bottle of white vinegar. This eliminates any soapy residue that may have accumulated inside your machine (and that may cling to your clothes causing them to attract dirt.) Consider doing this a few times a year.
Sort your laundry. We do whites, delicates and everything else.
For whites: Instead of using bleach, bad for you and bad for the environment, pour in one bottle of hydrogen peroxide along with your detergent (use less than what you think you need; the Method detergent uses just four pumps and we like that itty bitty bottle, which by the way, holds enough to wash as many loads as the giant bottles most detergents come in). Let the water agitate for a minute, then add your whites. For delicates and everything else: again, use less detergent. Using cold water is ideal but, depending on how dirty your clothes are, you might want to warm it up a bit. You can also set the laundry for a shorter cycle. Less soap means you'll need less time rinsing.
Drying: Instead of fabric softener or dryer sheets, throw in three tennis balls and a dry towel (Danny suggested one of the Quick Dri towels from JC Penney but any towel with do) along with your clothes. Towels are designed to absorb moisture; what they do for you when you get out of the shower will also work on your clothes. The tennis balls will prevent static cling, cut down on wrinkles and eliminate the need for fabric softener (the coating left by fabric softener is another dirt magnet.), Another way to cut down on static is to dry clothes made from synthetics separately.
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white vinegar is also a fabric softener. just put 1/4 c. in your fabric softener dispenser, or use a downy ball if you have an older machine.
I haven't used fabric softener or drier sheets since 2003 and never have a problem with wrinkles or static. It probably helps that I don't have many synthetic fiber clothes, but I don't know that the tennis balls are really necessary.
Agree with Tiamat; no need for tennis balls.
A whole bottle of peroxide per load? I can't see that as being better for the environment (that would be at least 52 totally unnecessary plastic bottles, probably more), and vinegar alone works just fine.
How big a bottle of peroxide? It comes in many sizes, from about 12-oz to about 2-gallon. Big difference.
So four money shots of Method and the Seventh Generation bottle was turned around - nice.
The peroxide thing is a joke, right?
Those of you who don't use fabris softener and don't have a problem with static, where do you live? I use a (green) detergent with fabric softener built in, and in the winter in MN sometimes the clothes are still clinging to each other when I take them out of the dryer. Climate makes a big difference!
The trick for me to avoid static cling without fabric softener is to do a quick tumble on cool when the dryer is done. Since I go to the laundromat - I usually switch the dryer temp from medium to low for the last few minutes. The cool temp seems to work wonders in dealing with static.
Hmm, I live in a cold climate and don't ever have a problem with static. My dryer goes to cool at the end of the cycle, so maybe that's it?
I want to know why I would use a bottle of hydrogen peroxide over a scoop of oxyclean or another peroxide-based laundry additive...
also, i use felted wool dryer balls, instead of tennis balls. i'm irrationally afraid of heating up plastic. i'm also curious to the benefit of using an entire bottle of peroxide? takes my 8 cents per load method, and drastically ups the cost.
anybody have any advice for dingy whites? tried everything
Overdrying can also cause static -- so don't dry for too long.
Elijayw, I live in California and it gets DRY here in summer (East Costers wonder why we are all obsessed with lotion out here...) since it's a desert but I've still never had any problems. If I'm watching nylon, polyester or some other synthetic, though, I often don't dry it. I just hang it up. Maybe that's it.
That and I pull everything at about 35-45 minutes, when it's still slightly damp because it's supposedly easier on the clothes and it makes smoothing any would-be wrinkles out a snap.
"Let the water agitate for a minute, then add your whites."
How do you do this in a laundry mat with a front-loading machine? Like the picture.
I have to say I have that method laundry detergent...and I really like it. I love that the bottle is so small (no more lugging giant bottles to my apartment)...
What techniques can I implement to green my laundry that don't clash with keeping costs down when living in an apartment building where it costs $2.75/per load (both washing and drying)?
I applaud the idea of running a cycle of white vinegar to dislodge any dirt that might have accumulated in the washing machine. However, that's $1.50 down the drain and I don't want to run a cycle without any clothes.
So, with all that said, what tips or ideas are there for those individuals who don't have a washer and dryer in their home.
who is Danny Seo and how did he (or anyone) get to be a laundry expert?
mdalexander, I'm with you. (Though it's just $2.00 for me to wash and dry.) If you're really concerned about cleaning the washing machine, I guess you could wipe down the insides with a microfiber cloth and your choice of cleaner? (I agree with this idea in theory but suspect I am too lazy to ever put it into practice.)
I have started air drying a lot more of my clothes, but sadly am not yet at the place where I air dry enough of them to save on the cost of a dryer load.
Great laundry tips. But yeah...the bottle of hydrogen peroxide seems extreme. I don't use bleach, so I am a peroxide fan. Never used a whole bottle on one load before though.
Thanks for the tip, stegersaurus. I think I'll actually try wiping the inside of a washing machine with either a microfiber or wipes.
I have also started air drying some of my clothes -mostly sweaters and hand washables- on my drying rack which has surprisingly saved me from using a dryer several times. Yet, I have not been able to wean myself off of dryers. Hopefully one day I'll get there.
I thought drying stuff with towels was supposed to cause pilling? Am I making this up?
The King of Green uses a dryer! That's a joke right. Why are people not willing to have a clothes maiden in their home?
I hand-wash in the sink and hang dry most of my clothes on hangers on the shower rod. The big laundering is mainly sheets and towels in a shared co-op basement room, which is the only time I use a dryer. (British friends call me "Widow Twanky" who is a panto character surrounded by hanging clothes in her laundry business haha.)
My dislike of doing any delicates and color-fast in those shared machines is that others in the building use huge amounts of chemical stain removers and too much detergent, so there's always loads of residue where you pour in the detergent. I agree with those who don't want to run a wash with no clothes just to clean it out first...
@micheleofnj: get some oxygen cleaner, and a bucket, and soak your whites in that before you wash them. It helps a lot!
Have you ever smelled tennis balls???? Not malodorous - but not entirely pleasing either. I'm afraid heated tennis balls would smell worse. No thank you.
I just bought a Wonder Wash(not to be confused with the Wonder WashER) and a mini countertop spin dryer. I used it for the 1st time Sunday night and was quite happy with the results. You use 1 bucket or two(depending upon how much you're doing) of water total per load, a few tbls of detergent and no electricity for the washer since you hand crank it (the spin dryer uses a little bit.) Your clothes are barely damp out of the spin dryer (glorified salad spinner), then I just hung dry to finish. Pretty environmentally awesome if you ask me. But it won't be for everyone. Alot of people just want to set it and forget it.
It's totally eliminating me from dragging my laundry down to my apt's shared machines and/or the laundramat. I think you can do towels and sheets, just one at a time, I'll be testing that next. I'm lazy, so I'd rather hang out in my apt and do some laundry whenever I want, even if it's a bit more manual.
Some great YouTube videos of the products and pretty good reviews on Amazon (where I bought them.)
I've never used bleach, nor have I used peroxide or vinegar when doing laundry before. Just good ol' soap and water.
Company is called Laundry Alternative.
Danny has some great tips; although, an entire bottle of vinegar or hydrogen peroxide is extreme.
- Baking soda is a great addition to detergent for those with hard water.
- White vinegar is great as a sanitizer & to make new fabrics colorfast (add 1 cup with detergent). White vinegar fills my fabric softener dispenser for each load ... works wonders!
- Danny's comment about not mixing synthetics with natural fibers to avoid static is on point as well.
Love both Method detergent & dropps laundry detergent 6x concentrated pacs ... performance & packaging! So glad that we no longer have to sling hefty jugs of watered detergent for every load ... where were these when I was in college? My daughter's thrilled that these will be in her trunk as she packs for college. Funny how healthy, non-toxic items are more expensive! But, we eliminate the added expense with sales, coupons (on packaging or manufacturers' websites), bulk purchases & amazon.com.
Lavender sachets from Trader Joe's are reusable (6 times?) & smell wonderful. We also make our own sweet smelling dryer sheet by sprinkling a few drops of essential oil on a damp hand towel & toss it in the dryer with a load.
Does anyone know a source for purchasing non-toxic dryer balls? Tennis balls & those blue, spiky, bpa-laden dryer balls that were created years ago are great for drying down comforters, jackets or pillows efficiently; but, they are toxic.
I also use the T.J. lavender sachets. I'm not particularly fond of lavender, but the scent is light enough that it doesn't bother me. I just ordered some wool dryer balls from Green Beanz - getting rid of the yucky blue plastic ones my fiancé used.
@vero1321: Thanks for dryer ball source. I do wonder if the wool dryer balls that are sold are as heavy as tennis balls or the blue, spiky, plastic ones. That weight is necessary for the balls to be useful in drying lofty items like comforters & down jackets.